


Reverse Current

by quindolins



Category: Persona 3, Persona Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Cyberpunk, Multi, Robots, Species Swap
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:13:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22338337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quindolins/pseuds/quindolins
Summary: "You can’t plug your ears and cover your eyes - and even those who may seem to have transcended mortality will have their souls ultimately return to the sea from which they came."
Relationships: Aigis/Arisato Minato, Amada Ken & Aragaki Shinjiro, Iori Junpei/Yoshino Chidori, Kirijo Mitsuru & Sanada Akihiko, Kirijo Mitsuru/Takeba Yukari, Moriyama Natsuki & Yamagishi Fuuka
Comments: 6
Kudos: 24





	1. A Message

_Time never waits._

_It delivers all equally to the same end._

_No mortal's futile attempts at apotheosis will ever be able to avert this inevitable truth._

_You, who wish to safeguard the future, however limited it may be..._

_You will be given one year;_

_go forth without falter, with your heart as your guide..._

_and never forget the delicate passage from which you were brought..._


	2. Prelude

The dying light of day shone down upon the tall buildings, casting faint shadows over the bustling city below. And amid those sporadic patches of darkness, a boy walked.

His hair was a sort of rich blue, reminiscent of the core of a galaxy as seen without light pollution; whenever he entered the gaze of the sun, rays glimmered around his scalp like a halo. From the confines of his face, dull, grayish eyes stared nonchalantly yet attentively ahead, occasionally glancing to the side. Even his skin, as fair as it was, seemed to glow.

As the boy made his way to his next destination, his ears registered the noisy chatterings of passersby. There were all types of conversations going on right now - ones of popular media, of daily happenings, of things he neither had known about nor personally cared for. For the average individual, it may have been pure chaos! How could anyone prevent themselves from having to hear it all?

But the boy didn't pay much mind to it, as the music in his mind was keeping him entertained.

Instead, he made his way up the steps to the station, and he waited.

* * *

Let me provide some background information.

Our boy is a special case, a deviant to a lot of people with whom he crosses fates. At the same time, however, he is, in many senses of the word, normal. He's able to enjoy life like any other person, should he choose to do so; he feels emotions, even when it doesn't seem like it; and nothing is stopping him from taking his future into his own hands.

Well, actually, that last fragment is a lie.

But I won't elaborate on how just yet, as that would spoil the entire tale.

* * *

After a delay of several hours, this boy was finally on the train headed for his main stop. Few others were on the vehicle, as it was getting quite late at night - but that was fine by his terms. Solace was good in small, necessary doses.

The boy stared out the nearest window, his irides capturing every color of every aspect of the rushing landscape. Street lamps, inhabited buildings, the small slivers of hazy moonlight that were lucky enough to break free from the confines of the clouds...nothing escaped his watchfulness. It was pretty beautiful, honestly, and the dancing spectra even reminded him of a butterfly - graceful and fleeting, yet eternally memorable.

All the while, the music continued to play on an unceasing loop.

* * *

Eventually, our enigmatic boy arrived at a critical location.

"Iwatodai...Iwatodai... This is the final train bound for Tatsumi Port Island," a voice over the station's intercom system blandly stated. "Please make sure you board in time for departure." Rinse and repeat.

The boy exited the train, his music still blaring inside his head. After taking a few steps, he paused for a moment to pull up the information he needed to get to his ultimate destination. Images wavered in his vision before they finally stood still, and he could see his path with perfect clarity - as though it was laid out for him, and only for him.

* * *

What was that? The previous paragraph had a strange choice of words?

Ah, right - I haven't told you yet.

Bear with me, now - the needed revelations will come in due time.

* * *

As the boy stood there, analyzing his options, the station clock chimed midnight. With the commencement of that series of notes, it was officially tomorrow today, meaning that today was now yesterday, and-

Okay, my point is, it was the start of a new day.

Or was it?

All around the boy, pieces of technology began to falter and deactivate one by one, whirring to their own stops before ceasing their hums entirely. As he stood there, bathed in a sickly green light, he raised his head to assess the occurrence. "Huh...?" he murmured without realizing.

The music in his head abruptly came to a halt, too - and, truthfully, he found it amazing that he was still standing at all.

* * *

Why, exactly, did our boy find that so miraculous?

Well, my dear reader, that's because he's an android.

* * *

He froze in place for a few moments, making sure he was still functioning. _You're fine_ , he told himself. _This isn't the first time this has happened - and basic probability dictates that it likely won't be the last, either._

With a sigh, he continued on his way.

It was admittedly annoying to walk without music, though.

* * *

The boy, with a sort of calm attentiveness, weaved seamlessly through the arrays of coffins.

Yes, _coffins_. You heard me right. I know what I said. _Don't_ question me; you're not the storyteller.

Anyway, he weaved through them, scanning the surrounding area for any oncoming threats. He sensed that this was, as usual, an abnormal happening - but, despite that, he fully retained his composure. Stuff like this had never bothered him for some reason - not even back when...

He repressed the memory with a basic command.

* * *

It took some time, but our boy did manage to arrive at his destination: Iwatodai Dorm. The building loomed before him in eerie silence; it was a silence so deafening, it made him question if he should enter at all.

_I'm supposed to be here, though. I was meant to arrive hours ago, in fact - so I shouldn't make them wait any longer._

The door was unlocked, so he slipped inside.

* * *

No other beings appeared to be in the lobby of the dorm, causing the boy to grow somewhat worried. _Perhaps they're just asleep? Yea, that's probably it..._ He started to look around the room, still irked by the lack of music...

"You're late."

The voice came from the left, and the boy turned to face its bearer. At first glance, it - he? They? Defaulting to they for now - appeared to be a child, and they donned an outfit that conjured mental images of old-fashioned prisoners. A second assessment, however, pulled up startling data that potentially implied that-

"I've been waiting a long time for you," they continued speaking while stationed at the receptionist's desk - and with a snap of their fingers, a clicking echoed through the otherwise still air. Through some...violation of natural law, they were now standing in front of our boy, too.

_How can anyone move that fast?_

"Now, if you want to proceed..."

The entity motioned toward a notepad on the desk.

"...please sign your name there. It's a contract! Don't worry - all it says is that you'll accept full responsibility for your actions. You know, the usual stuff."

Hesitantly, yet as though he was guided by destiny's hand, our blue-haired boy made his way to the papers and picked up a nearby pen - and with a handful of strokes, his name was permanently recorded in the annals of time itself.

_Minato Arisato_

* * *

"No one can escape time; it delivers us all to the same end." With a flourish, the stranger picked up the contract, which dissipated into thin air, like it had never been in existence at all.

This entire sequence of events had Minato questioning the rules of reality, actually, but he didn't verbalize anything.

"You can't plug your ears and cover your eyes - and even those who may seem to have transcended mortality will have their souls ultimately return to the sea from which they came."

The darkness was descending rapidly upon the contractor, and soon it had swallowed all elements of their form, save for their hand. And it was with that limb that they performed one final, fluid gesture before uttering four cryptic words:

"And so it begins."

* * *

Minato was alone once more, enveloped in the supernaturally green light. It reminded him somewhat of the glow of technology - such as that of...

Another command executed, another memory repressed.

_Well, that was something_ , he thought to himself. _Okay, now I should-_

"Who's there?!"

Minato slowly turned to face this newest speaker - a girl this time, for sure. Judging by her external behavior, she appeared to be...frightened? Mostly confused, but definitely scared to a degree. He watched and listened, not moving an inch, as she let out anxious huffs and as nervous sweat beaded on her face and dripped down her cheeks...

And then, her hands moving as fast as human anatomy would allow, she reached into a holster by her side and retrieved-

"Takeba, wait!"

The girl gasped loudly; this time, she ended up being the one to whirl around.

Standing not too far away from either of them was a young woman with cascading red hair and a generally more mature aura to her looks. Her expression started solemn but gradually melted into something relaxed and welcoming.

As Minato, too, took in her characteristics, the music in his mind resumed playing as quickly as it had stopped.


	3. April 7, 2009 - Late Night

The new redhead approached our boy Minato, remaining naturally at ease even after what had just transpired. "I didn't think you'd arrive so late," she stated with a fascinated edge to her voice. "My name is Mitsuru Kirijo. I'm one of the students who live in this dorm."

Curiously, the other girl glanced at Mitsuru. "...Who's he?"

"He's a transfer student. It was a last-minute decision to assign him here; he'll eventually be moved to a room in the boys' dorm."

"Is it okay for him to be here?"

Mitsuru blinked. "I guess we'll see..." She then motioned her hand toward her apparent peer. "This is Yukari Takeba. She'll be a junior this spring, just like you."

Yukari let out a nervous chuckle. "...Hey," she greeted our boy.

"Hey," he responded. "I'm Minato Arisato - nice to meet you. Although...might I ask why you have a gun...?"

This was evidently the wrong choice of a first question, and Minato scolded himself in the immediate aftermath, which consisted of Yukari flinching. "Huh?" she mumbled. "Um, well, it's sorta like a hobby... Well, not a _hobby_ , but..."

"You know how it is these days," Mitsuru answered, making several nonchalant gestures with her arms. "It's for self-defense. It's not a real gun, of course."

 _Hmm, alright_ , Minato thought. _Seems somewhat illogical to flaunt it if you can't use it, though..._ And he did have a point! But we're not at that part of the story yet, are we? (Correct - we are not.)

"It's getting late, so you should get some rest. The physique and function of your model work relatively similar to those of a human body, right?"

Yukari raised an eyebrow concernedly. "Model?" she echoed.

Mitsuru heaved a sigh. "Right...I haven't told you that detail yet, Takeba," she said. "Well, I'll explain it to you first thing in the morning, so you can know how to best proceed. Arisato: your room is on the second floor, at the end of the hallway. Your things should already be there."

Yukari glanced at Mitsuru then back at Minato. "Oh...I'll show you the way. Follow me," she told the latter.

And with that, they were off.

* * *

Yukari led our boy up the staircase and down the second level's corridor. Sure enough, at the end of the hallway, situated between a wall lamp and a pair of perpendicular windows, was a door. "This is it," she said. "Pretty easy to remember, huh? Since it's right at the end of the hall... Oh, yeah, make sure you don't lose your key, or you'll never heard the end of it.

"So, any questions?"

Our boy had a _multitude_ of questions, in fact, that logic couldn't answer, and his programming normally would dictate that illogical questions were better left not ask and in turn prevent them from ever being verbalized. However, one burning topic of interest managed to break free from the loop:

"Does that kid live here, too?"

A genuinely confused-looking Yukari tilted her head. "What kid? What are you talking about? C'mon, it's not funny..."

Amid his second instance of self-scolding, Minato found her obliviousness bizarre. _How strange...she doesn't seem to know them._

"Um...can I ask you something?" Yukari inquired after a moment of awkward quiet.

"You may," Minato responded somewhat succinctly.

"On your way here from the station, was everything okay?"

It took our boy's circuits a few seconds to process such an open-ended yet specific question. "What do you mean?" he replied in the end.

"You know what I-" Yukari began, though she cut herself off before she could finish. "Never mind," she concluded with a shrug. "It seems like you're alright, and that's all that really matters, I guess."

Turning on her heels, she began to walk off. "Well, I'd better get going... Um, I'm sure you still have other questions, but let's save them for later, okay? Good night!"

Not giving Minato the benefit of the last word, she disappeared down the hall and stairs.

Our boy stood there for a brief moment, completely still and perplexed. _What just happened?_ he wondered. Of course, he didn't dwell on it for too long; instead, he unlocked the door and walked inside.

Sure enough, all his stuff was inside, just as Mitsuru had stated. After noticing as such, he glided down onto his new bed and settled into sleep mode.

Yet...even in his inactivity, one question clouded his code:

_Why does this place feel the way it does?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yea, so, basically, this is a role-reversal AU where P3 hero is a robot and a certain other character is...well, you'll see.


	4. April 7, 2009 - Early Morning

During the night, Minato dreamt.

"How can he dream? He's a robot!"

I'm as clueless regarding that as you are, my reader.

(Just kidding - I know the reason. I'm just choosing not to tell it to you yet.)

Nevertheless, he very much dreamt - of the invisible chains binding him to the world of the living; of the suspicious experiences he'd had during this night; of the past, the present; and the future, sometimes all at once, though mostly excluding the past... In one such dream, he was lying on his mattress - which now rested in a location he swore he knew - observing phenomena that were too far to fully experience yet close enough to almost touch. Towering flames licked at the sky, further blackening the already dark night; it was terrifying yet serene, discordant yet calm. There was everything yet nothing to witness...

_What am I doing here?_

As if to answer his question, a loud thrumming reverberated throughout the air, and a light pierced the air's veil...and with the light came-

* * *

Artificial circadian rhythm eventually roused our boy from his slumber, and - after allocating ample time to make sure cyber-proprioception would function as necessary - he pushed himself out of his new bed. The dream he'd had just then, was already fading from his mind. That was okay, though - he had more critical topics to worry about right now. After all, he _was_ starting at a new school today.

He internally hoped everything would go well.

* * *

After changing into the new academic uniform that had been given to him, Minato stopped to glance at himself in the mirror. There were some minor imperfections - a small nick in his synthetic dermis, an almost indiscernible issue with the alignment of his right pupil in its eye socket...but nonetheless, he looked as human as he could, given the circumstances. If he was judging himself accurately, it would be almost impossible to tell that he wasn't human. Uncanny valley? Probably. But, then again, he…

Another memory suppressed.

And just in time, too - seconds later, there was a knock on the door.

"It's Yukari," a newly familiar voice called from the other side. "Are you awake?"

_ Oh! Takeba. _

"Yeah," Minato responded, walking over to let her in.

Yukari entered, donning a pink-tinged outfit just like the one she'd been wearing previously. "Good morning. Did you sleep okay?"

"As well as I could have possibly slept."

Yukari nodded in acknowledgement. "That's good." She then glanced down at her feet then back upward. "Mitsuru- _senpai_ asked me to take you to school. It's getting late, so...are you ready to go?"

"I am," Minato answered.

"Okay. Then, let's go."

* * *

Our boy had no way of knowing it then, but that fated trip to school meant more than anyone - human or robot - could ever comprehend.


End file.
